Interview: Alex Hawkinson on how we can make everyday objects smart

Alex Hawkinson’s SmartThings has been dubbed “the coolest Kickstarter project” by Kevin Rose, partner at Google Ventures. Having successfully raised more than US$1m on the crowdfunding site, Siliconrepublic.com decided to find out how this company plans to make everyday objects smarter.

Essentially, SmartThings turns everyday objects into smart objects. The platform consists of a hub that connects to the internet and devices that communicate with this hub while also sensing and controlling everyday things, such as your front door, your desk lamp, or even your pet’s collar.

Incorporated with SmartApps, this means users can be alerted if their dogs escape their gardens, automate their doors to lock when they leave the house, or turn on and off their lamps wherever they may be.

As a completely open platform, SmartThings invites developers and makers to create their own SmartThings and share them with the community. The simplicity of SmartThings, the way it could improve our everyday lives and its hacker-friendly nature makes this an exciting concept for both developers and consumers alike.